Shock absorbing protective mask

ABSTRACT

The shock absorbing protective mask of the present invention comprises a cap body, a grid frame, at least one cushion shock absorber, and at least one pivot member. The cap body has a receiving space and a front opening, connected to each other. The grid frame is assembled on the cap body and covers the front opening. The cushion shock absorber has a body and a piston rod. The body is combined with the cap body. The piston rod is slidably attached to the body and slides relative to the body. The pivot member has a first member and a second member, pivotally connected to each other, the first member is connected to the grid frame. The second member is connected to the piston rod. Thereby, the shock absorbing protective mask indeed achieves the purpose of improving the shock absorbing effect in order to avoid injuries to the user.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a shock absorbing protective mask,especially related to a shock absorbing protective mask which hasimproved shock absorbing effect to avoid injuries to the user.

2. Background

Protective masks in general sports, such as head protective masks forbaseball catchers or football players, mainly comprise a cap body and agrid frame, wherein the grid frame is, for example, an iron grid fameand fixed on the cap body.

The conventional protective masks have the function of protecting thehead and the face of athletes from being directly impacted by externalforces. However, because the grid frame is directly fixed to the capbody, the majority of the impact strength received by the grid framewould be directly passed to the head or the face of the athletes,causing injury to athletes due to excessive impact strength whensubjected to external impact.

In response to the above problems, a protective mask utilizing a cushionshock absorber has been developed to reduce the impact strength and toprotect athletes from injury. However, the aforementioned conventionalshock absorbing protective masks still have their shortcomings.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a perspective view of a conventionalprotective mask with a cushion shock absorber. FIG. 1 shows aconventional protective mask 9 with a cushion shock absorber 8. Thecushion shock absorber 8 is connected to a cap body 91 and a grid frame92, respectively, of the protective mask 9. As mentioned above, whensubjected to external impact, the protective mask 9 uses the cushionshock absorber 8 to absorb part of the impact strength.

However, the grid frame 92 would be deformed when the external forceimpacted on the protective mask 9 is too strong. The cushion shockabsorber 8 is unable to fully provide cushion shock absorbing effects,and it is possible that the athletes may be injured because the impactforce is too strong.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The shock absorbing protective mask of the present invention comprises acap body, a grid frame, at least one cushion shock absorber, and atleast one pivot member. Wherein, the Cap body has a receiving space anda front opening, connected to each other. The grid frame is assembled onthe cap body and covers the front opening. The at least one cushionshock absorber has a body and a piston rod, the body is combined withthe cap body, and the piston rod is slidably attached to the body andslides relative to the body. The at least one pivot member has a firstmember and a second member, pivotally connected to each other, the firstmember is connected and fixed to the grid frame, and the second memberis connected and fixed to the piston rod.

With the above structural design, the shock absorbing protective mask ofthe present invention can indeed achieve the purpose of improving theshock absorbing effect in order to avoid injuries to the user.

The body and the cap body are integrally formed

The body is screwed on and combined with the cap body with at least onescrew.

The at least one cushion shock absorber is a spring cushion shockabsorber and has a spring, and the spring is circularly mounted on thepiston rod and pushes against the piston rod and the body.

The at least one cushion shock absorber has a threaded sleeve and a nut,the threaded sleeve pushes against the spring and is screwed to thebody, and the nut is screwed to the threaded sleeve.

The nut is a manual nut.

The second member is screwed to the piston rod.

The cap body has an upper fixing flange and a lower fixing flange, andthe grid frame pushes against the upper fixing flange and the lowerfixing flange and is assembled to the cap body.

The at least one cushion shock absorber is a hydraulic cushion shockabsorber.

The at least one cushion shock absorber is a pneumatic cushion shockabsorber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional protective mask with acushion shock absorber.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention under usage.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the cushion shock absorber of the firstpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the cushion shock absorber of thefirst preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second, preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic of the cushion shock absorber of a third preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic of the cushion shock absorber of a fourthpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a perspective view of a first preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a shock absorbing protective mask 1, and the shockabsorbing protective mask 1 comprises a cap body 2, a grid frame 3, atleast one cushion shock absorber 4, and at least one pivot member 5.

In FIG. 2, the cap body 2 has a receiving space 21 and a front opening22, which are connected to each other. The grid frame 3 is assembled onthe cap body 2 and Covers the front opening 22 of the cap body 2. The atleast one cushion shock absorber 4 has a body 41 and a piston rod 42,wherein the body 41 is combined with the cap body 2, the piston rod 42is slidably attached to the body 41 and slides relative to the body 41.The at least one pivot member 5 has a first member 51 and a secondmember 52, which are pivotally connected to each. The first member 51 isconnected and fixed to the grid frame 3. For example, they are weldedafter an aluminum rod is passed through. The second member 52 isconnected and fixed to the piston rod 42 of the at least one cushionshock absorber 4. For example, they are connected and fixed by screwingas described below.

In this embodiment, the grid frame 3 is an aluminum alloy grid frame.Furthermore, the body 41 is screwed on and combined with the cap body 2with at least one screw 411. FIG. 2 shows the body 41 is screwed on andcombined with the cap body 2 with two screws 411. In addition, thenumber of the at least one cushion shock absorber 4 is four, and eachtwo of the cushion shock absorbers 4 are located each of the two sidesof the cap body 2. The number of the at least One pivot member 5 matchesthe number of the cushion shock absorbers 4 and as such, is also four.FIG. 2 only shows one side of the cap body 2 because of the viewingangle.

Refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic of the first preferred embodimentof the present invention under usage. FIG. 3 illustrates that thecushion shock absorbers 4 would be cushioned and absorb shocks to avoidinjuries to the user when the shock absorbing protective mask 1 issubjected to impact by an external impact. When the shock absorbingprotective mask 1 is subjected to an external impact which is too strongand causes the deformation of the grid frame 3, the first member 51,connected and fixed to the grid frame 3, of the pivot member 5 and thesecond member 52, connected and fixed to the piston rod 42 of thecushion shock absorbers 4, pivotally rotate relative to each other.Therefore, the cushion shock absorbers 4 can still maintain a cushionshock absorbing function, and the cushion shock absorbers 4 indeedachieve cushion shock absorbing effects. Comparatively, when the shockabsorbing protective mask 1 is subjected to an external impact which istoo strong and causes the deformation of the grid frame 3, users canindeed avoid injury with the cushion shock absorbing effects of thecushion shock absorbers 4.

Refer to FIG. 2 again. In the structural design of this embodiment, thecap body 2 has an upper fixing flange 23 and a lower fixing flange 24.The grid frame 3 pushes against the upper fixing flange 23 and the lowerfixing flange 24 and is assembled to the cap body 2. This way providesan auxiliary fixing effect for the grid frame 3 to be assembled andfixed to the cap body 2. In other words, this way avoids the problem ofthe grid frame 3 moving up and down and displacing too much to damagethe cushion shock absorbing effect of the cushion shock absorbers 4 whenthe shock absorbing protective mask 1 is subjected to the externalimpact.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 at the same time. FIG. 4 is anexploded view of the cushion shock absorber of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view ofthe cushion shock absorber of the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate the second member 52 of the pivot member 5is screwed and connected to the piston rod 42 of the cushion shockabsorbers 4 in the present embodiment.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show that the cushion shock absorber 4 isa spring cushion shock absorber in this embodiment and comprises aspring 43. The spring 43 is circularly mounted on the piston rod 42 andpushes against the piston rod 42 and the body 41. Thus, the spring 43can provide the elastic rod 42 with prestress to slide.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 further show that each of the cushion shock absorbers4 further has a threaded sleeve 44 and a nut 45 in this embodiment. Thethreaded sleeve 44 pushes against the spring 43 and is screwed to thebody 41, i.e. the spring 43 pushes against the piston rod 42 and thethreaded sleeve 44, which is screwed to the body 41. The nut 45 isscrewed to the threaded sleeve 44. Thus, the screwed depth of thethreaded sleeve 44 screwed to the body 41 can be adjusted, and then thenut 45 is screwed to fix. At this time, because the threaded sleeve 44pushes against the spring 43, the amount of the extension and theretraction (longer or shorter) of the spring 43 can be relativelyadjusted. The elastic strength of the spring 43 can be adjusted, andthereby, the cushion shock absorbers 4 can provide stronger or weakercushion shock absorbing effects with the aforesaid adjustment.

In this embodiment, the recited nut 45 is a manual nut, i.e. the usercan directly screw the nut 45 with their hands. Of course, the nut 45may also have a groove (not shown), and the user can screw the nut 45with a flathead screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver.

Refer to FIG. 6, which is a perspective view of a second preferredembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the mainstructure thereof is the same as the main structure of theabovementioned first preferred embodiment. The only difference is thatthe body 611 and the cap body 62 are integrally formed, i.e., a portionof the cap body 62 can be formed as the body 611 of the cushion shockabsorber 61. Such structural design can also achieve the various effectsof the first preferred embodiment.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a schematic of the cushion shockabsorber of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention,wherein the cushion shock absorber 71 is shown as a hydraulic cushionshock absorber.

Please refer to FIG. 8, which a schematic of the cushion shock absorberof a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein thecushion shock absorber 72 is shown as a pneumatic cushion shockabsorber.

According to what FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 shows, the cushion shock absorberscan be all kinds of forms of cushion shock absorbers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shock absorbing protective mask, comprising: acap body having a receiving space and a front opening, connected to eachother; a grid frame, assembled on the cap body and covering the frontopening; at least one cushion shock absorber having a body and a pistonrod, the body being combined with the cap body, the piston rod beingslidably attached to the body and sliding relative to the body; and atleast one pivot member having a first member and a second member,pivotally connected to each other, the first member being connected andfixed to the grid frame, and the second member being connected and fixedto the piston rod.
 2. The shock absorbing protective mask in claim 1,wherein the body and the cap body are integrally formed.
 3. The shockabsorbing protective mask in claim 1, wherein the body is screwed on andcombined with the cap body with at least one screw.
 4. The shockabsorbing protective mask in claim 1, wherein the at least one cushionshock absorber is a spring cushion shock absorber and has a spring, andthe spring is circularly mounted on the piston rod and pushes againstthe piston rod and the body.
 5. The shock absorbing protective mask inclaim 4, wherein the at least one cushion shock absorber has a threadedsleeve and a nut, the threaded sleeve pushes against the spring and isscrewed to the body, and the nut is screwed to the threaded sleeve. 6.The shock absorbing protective mask in claim 5, wherein the nut is amanual nut.
 7. The shock absorbing protective mask in claim 1, whereinthe second member is screwed to the piston rod.
 8. The shock absorbingprotective mask in claim 1, wherein the cap body has an upper fixingflange and a lower fixing flange, and the grid frame pushes against theupper fixing flange and the lower fixing flange and is assembled to thecap body.